Airboard – the Hovering Scooter

The Airboard is an innovative personal hovering scooter, which uses an air cushion to glide above a variety of surfaces. As opposed to Hovercrafts, the Airboard has a drive wheel for acceleration and directional control, as well as friction devices for steering and stopping. Among other maneuvers, the Hovering Scooter is capable of full 360 degrees turns, sliding stops and turns, and zigzag movements. Too bad the Airboard current price is around $15,000.

Similarly to skateboarding and snowboarding, the driver can steer the Hovering Scooter simply by shifting his or her body weight. One of the scooter’s advantages is that it’s equipped with two levers – one controlling engine speed and another controlling the friction drive clutch.

The Hovering Scooter can reach a speed of up to 15 miles per hour and is affected by factors like wind resistance and the type of surface over which it hovers. The driver can bring the vehicle to a full stop using the levers on the handle bar, which also includes an engine stop switch for extra safety.

The Hovering Scooter measures 5.3 feet (1.6 meters) in diameter and weighs less than 200Lbs (85 kg). Its low center of gravity is intended to make the driving experience safer for the user. Still, in order to ensure the rider’s safety personal protection equipment (PPE) should be worn and the scooter should be driven only on obstacle-free, level ground. Also, the Hovering Scooter is to be used solely on private property.

The Hovering Scooter is constructed of a fiberglass plastic shell, an aluminum frame and a rubber skirt. The scooter has an electric key-start, and a 5 liter fuel tank, designed to consume standard grade gasoline (85 Octane rating). A full fuel tank provides around one hour of riding.